The 21st annual Centennial Conference cross country championships take place on Saturday at the Carroll County (Md.) Farm Museum in Westminster. And the 2013 event looks to be one of the most competitive in recent memory.
The women get things underway at 11 a.m. and features the top three teams in the region. Defending champion Johns Hopkins is the top-ranked team in Division III and is looking to defend titles in the Conference, the region and the country. Haverford is second in the region and 15th nationally, while Dickinson is third in the Mideast and 19th overall. Swarthmore (8) and Gettysburg (10) are also ranked in the Mideast Region.
The Blue Jays return five runners who received All-Centennial recognition last fall by finishing in the top 14. Sophomore Hannah Oneda (Westminster, Md.) is the defending champion, while senior Holly Clarke (Lincoln, Mass.) was the runner-up a year ago. Sophomore Sophia Meehan (Havertown, Pa.), junior Ashley Murphy (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) and senior Lara Shegoski (Belle Mead, N.J.) finished 8-9-10, respectively, while senior Annie Monagle (Rumford, R.I.) is also a threat.
Haverford is led by senior Emily Scott (Princeton Junction, N.J.), a first-team All-Centennial runner in 2011, junior Kelley Riffenburgh (South Pasadena, Calif.) and sophomore Nora Weathers (Peterborough, N.H.). Dickinson senior Sara Patterson (Houston, Texas) (11th) and soph Claire Brawdy (Eden, N.Y.) lead the Red Devils.
Taylor Ludman (13th) - lead the Red Devils. Ludman was the 2011 Centennial Runner of the Year after winning the Conference meet.
Others to keep an eye on include Bryn Mawr junior Claudia Keep (Solebury, Pa.), Franklin & Marshall soph Mallory Reed (Milton, Pa.), Gettysburg junior Alyssa Beyer (Hollidaysburg, Pa.), McDaniel senior Jasmine McCormick (Antioch, Calif.), Muhlenberg senior Nicki Cronin (Kings Park, N.Y.), Swarthmore sophomore Jenna Cody (Cranbury, N.J.), and Ursinus senior Sarah Huang.
The men's race begins at noon and pits three nationally-ranked teams in the chase for the trophy. Dickinson is the highest-ranked team, coming in at #1 in the Mideast region and #8 nationally, while Haverford is second regionally and 12th in Division III. Johns Hopkins rounds out the nationally-ranked teams at #32 and fifth in the region, while Swarthmore, ranked sixth in the Mideast, is just outside the top 35.
Four first-team All-Conference runners are back for the 2013 championship, including defending champion Chris Stadler (Belmont, Mass.) of Haverford who led the Fords to their 18th title in 20 years last fall. Teammates Joel Christian (Towanda, Pa.) (4th) and Avi Bregman (Nashville, Tenn.) (5th) also finished in the top seven a year ago, while Brian Sokas (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) (8th) was a second-team All-Centennial honoree. Dickinson is led by seniors Henry Mynatt (Lake Forest, Ill.) (9th) and Ryan Steinbock (Pittsburgh, Pa.) (11th), along with junior Hunter Smith (Richboro, Pa.) (14th). The Red Devils have won two Centennial titles (2008-09) and finished second a Conference-high 11 times.
Johns Hopkins returns a trio of seniors who were All-CC picks - Max Robinson (Rye, N.Y.) (3rd), Andrew Carey (Belmont, Mass.) (10th) and Julian Salani (Irvington, N.Y.) (12th) - while sophomore Schaffer Ochstein (Dallas, Texas) (15th) was the 2012 Centennial Rookie of the Year. The Blue Jays have finished third in five of the last six championships.
Other runners to watch include Franklin & Marshall junior Bryan Andrews (Exton, Pa.), Gettysburg junior Jeff Horvath (Meshoppen, Pa.), McDaniel sophomore Chris Jones (Centreville, Va.), Muhlenberg junior Luke Munyun (Nazareth, Pa.), Swarthmore sophomore Mike McConville (Hingham, Mass.) and Ursinus soph Vincent Flood (Jamison, Pa.).